Don't Fight It
by JasmineGreenTea
Summary: The post-war Ministry of Magic is desperate to prove themselves against evil and take drastic measures to do so. Hermione Granger wants to fight the new marriage law, but her new husband has something else in mind. Neville/Hermione
1. Prologue

Author's note: Hello everyone. I suddenly had the urge to read a Neville/Hermione fic, but I didn't find anything that I really enjoyed (I didn't look very hard) and I thought that I might as well just write my own. I will try to update regularly, so here we go!

Disclaimer: As much as I wish I did, I do not own Harry Potter.

Hermione Granger awoke with a start as a ruffled-looking black owl tapped on the window of the bedroom of the apartment that she shared with her boyfriend, Ron Weasley. Before getting up and stretching her thin arms she looked over at Ron, who muttered something in his sleep and rolled over before falling back asleep. She smiled to herself, thinking about how wonderful the past two years had been. The war was over, she and Ron were just starting their careers, and her best friends Harry and Ginny had just gotten married. Not one to rush things, Hermione had decided not to push Ron about it, but she hoped that soon she and Ron could settle down as well. The black owl pecked harder again, getting impatient with Hermione. She shook her head and quietly tiptoed to the window, unlatching the little brass hook so that she could let the angry owl in. The bird nipped her finger quite aggressively, hastily stuck out it's leg for Hermione to untie the parcel, and promptly flew away when she had finished. The letter was addressed to to her, and was from the Ministry of Magic. Excited with curiosity, Hermione tore at the large envelope.

_Dear Ms. Granger,_

_It is our pleasure to inform you of the newly established Marriage Law for the Wizarding community. In light of the past war, and the entirety of Wizarding history preceding it, it has been decided that to prevent any future blood- status issues, the pureblood lines must be diluted. All pureblood witches and wizards of age will be required to marry either a muggleborn or a halfblooded witch or wizard of age. The hope is that the next generation of witches and wizards will no longer be pureblood, thus extinguishing any form of "blood-status." Following the current generation, the law will be unnecessary and will then be terminated._

_The ministry has used the most advanced magic possible to locate the most suitable matches. The following person has been selected for you:_

_Neville Longbottom_

_This letter serves as an immediate and binding contract of a magical marriage. Those who wish to still have a formal ceremony may do so._

_Congratulations,_

_Percy Weasley,_

_Minister of Magic._

There was a dull thud a Hermione Granger fell to the floor, unconscious.


	2. Chapter 1

Author's Note: So, here we go on to chapter one. My writing is usually way too short, but bear with me.

Neville was pacing back and forth near the entrance of the Three Broomsticks. His butterbeer was sloshing all over the front of his deep blue cloak, but all of his attention was focused on the letter in his pocket. He could barely believe it. The Ministry had established a marriage law! This was beyond a violation of their rights, but Neville didn't really care about that much. What had Neville all flustered was to whom he was to be married. Hermione. The same Hermione that he had spent his years at Hogwarts with. The bushy-haired girl who had always been there to help him. In the first year she had helped him find his toad Trevor instead of laughing like everyone else. And she had saved his life on countless occasions in Potions. He was really quite awful at the subject, and without her help, he surely would have blown himself up, or would have poisoned himself. He had realized that he had loved her, before she looked dazzling at the Yule Ball. He grimaced as he remembered her turning him down because Viktor had already asked, and how lovely she looked in his arms that night, her periwinkle robes twirling around her as she spun around on the dance floor. His feelings only intensified in the fifth and sixth year. She had always been the one to help him in the DA, and they had become even closer friends. In seventh year, Neville had waited and worried about her. Muggleborns were being abducted and imprisoned, and she was a top priority Undesireable. Surely if Voldemort had found her, she would have been killed. When she came back for the final battle, he was so elated and worried at the same time, and he knew that it could be his only chance to tell her how he felt. Yet as he was looking for her to ask for a word in private he heard a great clamorous sound of clattering bones and found Hermione passionately kissing Ron with large fangs strewn all around them. He quietly walked away, tears streaming down his eyes. He never stood a chance against someone like Ron. Two years had passed, and he had kept to persuing his career in herbology, remaining close friends with the trio that had brought down the dark lord, but always carrying a sad twinge in his heart.

But everything had just changed. Here in his pocket was the official document declaring his marriage to the woman that he had loved since his third year. He knew how upset Hermione would be. She was so in love with Ron, but he could only hope that one day she could perhaps learn to love him too. His face was pale and sweaty, and his tall thin frame was shaking slightly. He had lost so much weight from the constant worrying and stress that he had become extremely skinny. The war had darkened his features , and the boyish look had been transformed into that of a man, burdened with pain and loss. He had owled Hermione to meet him for a drink so that they could discuss the letter and their abrupt and unexpected marriage. He was so nervous that he didn't even notice the small "pop" as a small figure appeared beside him.

"….hi Neville…"

He took a deep breath and turned around, his face blotched with red.

"Hello Hermione," he pulled her into an awkward hug, "how have you been?"

But Hermione wasn't interesting in small talk. She bit her lip slightly, a sign that Neville knew meant that she was nervous, and she looked to the floor. When she brought her head back up he was shocked by the fiery passion that she held in her eyes.

"Neville, I know you don't really want to marry me," Neville felt the room start to spin, and he took a deep breath to steady himself, "and I don't want to marry you either." He felt sick, and he fought very hard to keep a straight face and let her continue. He knew that this would be her immediate reaction, but it still hurt to hear it so blunt and plainly from her beautiful lips. "We are best friends, and I am in love with Ron, and everyone knows how Luna feels about you. So I've decided…" Her face was hard and unreadable. "We have to fight this."

Neville let her words really sink in. He wasn't expecting her to take it this far. Was she really so opposed to marrying him that she was going to fight the ministry? And what was this rubbish about Luna? She had been dating Dean Thomas since school, and he remembered them being quite happy together. He looked up at her and her eyes looked misty and hopeful, but still glimmering with the ferocity she had before.

"I am just so in love with Ron, and everything in my life has just started to go right. I can't lose him. Will you help me make my case to present to the ministry?" She was pleading with him now. "Ron and Harry work there, so I can't expect them to involve themselves, at least publicly. They would be fired in an instant. Percy is so keen on power and order that he would fire the man who defeated Voldemort and his own brother."

She held his gaze for a while, and the look in her eyes was unbearable. His insides felt like they were falling into a black hole, but he plastered a smile on his face, gave Hermione a small hug, and felt the words slide out of his mouth. "Of course Hermione, I feel exactly the same."

What a lie that had been.


End file.
